清代乾隆时期长芦盐商借还官帑的演变与引岸权问题

Evolution of Changlu Salt Merchants' Borrowing and Repaying Government Funds and the Issue of Yin'an Rights during the Qianlong Reign of the Qing Dynasty

清朝的长芦盐商很大程度上通过借还官帑和朝廷保持紧密的联系。在朝廷与盐商的资金互动中,引岸权成为多方用于博弈并寻求获利的重要媒介,并在具体运作过程中不断被修定。在通过借帑可以获得盐利以外的可观收入的情况下,盐商获取引岸权并不在经营盐业而在借此获借官帑牟利,同时还通过吸收附在引岸权上的欠帑来扩大引窝价,以套借更多官帑。但乾隆中后期朝廷改变了官帑政策,减少现银投入和加强欠帑管理,使得盐商出现资金危机,借帑变成只是账面上的移东补西,盐商债务越滚越大乃至破产抄家。官帑的借还政策影响着盐商的资本和经营策略并直接反映在引岸权上。为借官帑而被不断抬高的引窝价导致了清代中后期盐业实际经营成本的增涨,而一旦官帑这一资金链中断,长芦盐业经济也就陷入危机。

The Changlu salt merchants in the Qing Dynasty maintained close ties with the imperial court largely through the borrowing and repayment of government funds.In the financial interactions between the court and salt merchants,the yin'an rights became an important medium for multiple parties to engage in strategic maneuvers and seek profits,with continuous revisions being made to the specific operational processes.When borrowing government funds could yield considerable income beyond salt profits,salt merchants'acquisition of yin'an rights was no longer focused on operating the salt industry but rather on leveraging these rights to borrow government funds for profit.Simultaneously,the debts associated with the yin'an rights were allocated onto the new yinwo prices,allowing for the borrowing of even more government funds.However,in the mid-to-late Qianlong period,the imperial court altered its policy on government funds,reducing the investment of cash and strengthening the management of debts,which resulted in a financial crisis for salt merchants.Borrowing became merely a bookkeeping exercise of shifting funds from one place to another,and the debts of salt merchants accumulated to the point of bankruptcy.The borowing and repayment policies of government funds influenced the capital and business strategies of salt merchants,which were directly reflected in the yin'an rights.The constantly inflated yinwo prices,driven by the need to borrow government funds,led to an increase in the actual operating costs of the salt industry in the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty.Once the capital chain of government funds was disrupted,the Changlu salt business would be plunged into crisis.